Death By The Dollar
by Seifer Almasy 911
Summary: Kane and Lynch barely managed to survive two days in Shanghai and escape, but they've managed, though they may just be going from the frying pan into the fire once more as their plane touches down in Ecuador, preparing for whatever horrendous trials await


Kane and Lynch hadn't had a lot of options when they escaped Shanghai, especially after Lynch refused to make a deal with Shang-Si and simply shot him, forever souring his relationship with Kane - but they'd never exactly been close in the first place and had only grown apart over the course of carrying out their vendetta against The 7. The bad blood between them made controllign Lynch that much more difficult during their long and surprisingly successful flight to Ecuador, even allowing Kane enough time to think of who he could call to provide support. He had a laundry list of people that didn't trust him or out right hated him but Kane had only a small list of people he thought he could trust. None of them were in South America as far as he knew, though he had been out of the loop for quite a while. Once they landed there would be all sorts of problems to deal with and they would have to do so on their own.

"Alright Lynch, we got about an hour left."

"Yeah... you got any ammo?"

"I'm still good." Kane nodded, not looking down at the Zastava M85 he'd picked up from one of Glazer's men in his hangar as well as plenty of ammo for it, "You?"

"I'm good." Lynch nodded, holding up his shotgun for a moment, "Still got my handgun, too."

"S'a God damn hand cannon is what that thing is. what caliber did you get it in?"

"Forty four - why?"

"Good. If it doesn't kill any cops you shoot it'll at least make 'em think twice about getting up."

"Eh, makes sense." Lynch gunted, not having thought about it like that, he'd simply liked how the Taurus Kane had given him when they'd first worked together felt, and that no one he shot with it got back up, "Doubt they'll get back up at all. It worked fine for me in Shanghai."

"Let's hope it works in Ecuador too."

"Yeah."

The two fell silent again both deep in their own thoughts, often of despair. Lynch had lost all hope when Xiu had been killed and his only motivation for living was to see Shang-Si killed, now that he had accomplished that goal he was a lost child with no one to hold his hand. Kane on the other hand was fighting to avoid wallowing in his sorrow, worried baout how things would play out, not for his own sake but Jenny's. He had called her but Kane was still determined to make it back to see her, though if Kane did he didn't have the money he had intended to give to Jenny. Shanghai had been for nothing and it had all been Lynch's fault. They would have never been caught if it hadn't been for Lynch not letting Kane take the shot when Xiu was in trouble and it was Lynch that had killed Shang-Si when he wanted to talk. Kane hadn't even wanted to stick with Lynch after Shanghai but as usual Lynch couldn't think for himself and came along with him, though if he hadn't Kane doubted he could've made it to Glazer's jet and then to the one they'd actually managed to steal.

"Lynch."

"Yeah Kane?"

"After this... we split up."

"Yeah, whatever, you need me-"

"I mean it." Kane said as evenly as he could, only glancing at Lynch for a second before looking away, not sure he could keep his anger in check, "I don't want anything to do with you anymore, and besides, it's best that way."

"How do you fucking figure? Alone we're dead, especially if someone finds us. Then we're ultra fucked."

"No we'ren ot Lynch, look, you did just fine in Shanghai. You'll manage in Ecuador though I'd recommend hopping the border. Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, wherever you prefer but just get outta there."

"And you?"

"Africa."

"Still?"

"Yeah... I know a guy that's been spending some time out there last I heard. He goes back every now and then to lay low. He pulls jobs in other countries around the continent, but generally saves just one for avoiding the heat."

"Yeah? Where? What's he got going on?"

"You're not coming with me."

"Fuck you, what if I wanna set up my own deal with him?"

"You're not going." Kane clenced his jaw, balling his free hand into a fist, "Look Lynch, we're staying together. It doesn't work. You said it yourself people keep dying around us. It's over. We're done. Let's just go off on our own and find our own ways to hell alright?"

Lynch simply fell silent, or rather looked away, grunted and began mumbling to himself frantically as he had been the whole flight and almost the entire two days Kane had spent with him in Shanghai. Kane didn't find it discomforting having almost lost the ability to be disturbed entirely but he knew that it meant Lynch was feeling stressed out and while he had managed to keep himself in check so far he hadn't had his pills since leaving Shanghai. As long as Lynch held out until they landed and made their escape Kane didn't care what happened next, knowing Lynch would likely snap as Kane was escaping, start killing hostages and police alike and be killed in the hail of bullets that ensued. After that it was Kane's turn but he was still determined to fix things as best as he could before he bit the dust as well; if he could just set Jenny up for the rest of her life and get her to forive him then they could put him back on death row, or simply execute him on the spot.

"What's he sayin'?" Lynch perked up and looked at Kane as the pilot started speaking to them, the cabin door having been left open so they could keep an eye on them.

"Says we'll be there in twenty minutes."

"Shit."

"Yeah." Kane sighed as he stood up, "Get ready. It'll be a rough landing."

"Bit of an understatement."

Twenty minutes later Kane peered out the window and could see land approaching fast, they were headed straight for an airport that had been put on alert, with plenty of visible police units all over though they stayed away from the runway. They knew what they were doing so far but Kane knew they weren't going to be quite as flexible when negotiating as other countries' police forces. These men would shoot them dead as soon as they could if things didn't work out the way they wanted, and would likely shoot them dead even if it did.

"Alright Lynch, I need you to stay cool, I'll get us outta this."

"Stay cool? We gotta make a run for it!"

"They'll have snipers set up! The whole place'll be blockaded, there's no way we're making it out of there like that. We're lucky China didn't shoot us down as soon as we left."

"Well what, we're gonna fucking negotiate like you did with Retomoto, or The 7? What about Shang-Si?"

"Those weren't my fault! I didn't fuck up, that was all you!" Kane shouted, pausing for a moment to calm down, "Look, Lynch, trust me ont his."

Kane gripped his rifle tightly with both hands and watched the fast approaching airport ast he plane touched down and eventually came to a stop further down the empty runway. Completely alone and isolated, much like they had been in their escape from Venezuela.

"Go check on everyone in the next section, I'll stay here to start negoatiating."

"Yeah, let's hope this goes better than before then." Lynch stood and proceded back to where they had kept the hostages, keeping an entire section of the plane to themselves, "What do I tell 'em?"

"Nothing. Just stand there and look scary but not too scary. Don't make the think they have to be heroes."

"Yeah... alright. Yeah." Lynch nodded and got up, shotgun in hand as he headed back further into the plane to do as he was told.

Kane on the other hand stayed where he was and started contemplating his options. He had managed to make it through a lot on his way to that point but Kane didn't know if he could get out of a situation like this. He had never been in a situation quite like a hostage negotiation at an airport, though Kane knew enough to know that it usually didn't end well for the people that had taken hostages. There was a reason hijackings weren't popular anymore. They made a great statement but almost always lost anyone that carried them out. Without any contacts on the outside Kane knew were in the area and could be relied on to help get them out Kane wasn't entirely sure there was much they could do other than shoot their way out, stalling would only give the police more time to get ready for whatever happened, and taking to long meant eventually they would raide the airplane and take them down no matter what. Deciding they had only one option Kane stood, rifle in hand, and walked over to Lynch.

"We're not negotiating. I changed my mind. There's no way out - we'll have to make one."

"You sure?" Lynch looked over his shoulder at Kane, "We still got some leverage with the hostages."

"We'll take a couple with us if we can." Kane shook his head, "But we can't stay here. We have to try and get out one way or another. If we stay we're as good as dead."

"If you say so, you sure we got enough ammo if this shit kicks off?"

"Plenty." Kane shrugged, "Snatch some off the dead cops if you can anyawy."

"Will do." Lynch nodded, looking back at their hostages and glancing back and forth, "Lemme know when we're ready to roll."

"Trust me, you'll know." Kane turned and headed for the cockpit.

"Alright, come on Lynch. Bring a couple of them up here." Kane peered out the window moments after landing, "Doesn't look like any snipers are set up yet - that'll work in our favor. We just have to stay close to the hostages and keep our guns on them."

"Yeah, yeah - alright." Lynch nodded, rounding up a group of five and following them up to where Kane was waiting, still looking out the window.

"Alright, you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." Lynch admitted, seriously doubting their chances of making it out of the airport alive but he couldn't come up with a reason to avoid death anymore, "Let's just get this over with."

"Alright, let's go." Kane nodded and had a hostage walk in front of him as he lead the rest of the group outside.

Lynch could instantly feel all the eyes on him watching his every movement as he and Kane likely surprised the police present by disembarking, and doing so less than five minutes after arriving. It was all getting under his skin in a big way but Lynch somehow managed to keep himself together, to keep it cool, for the time being as Kane kept talking to him as they strolled across the tarmac. Lynch harly paid attention to what Kane was saying however, far too caught up in his own constant talking to himself, stressed out and ready to snap at the slightest sign of police force. Kane was just as ready but much more stable in the sense that he would keep his senses about him and still be able to think logically during the so called fog of war, though Kane was distracted by his own thoughts as well as he kept trying to think of any possible options they could use to get out of the airport in one piece and evade police pursuit.

"Lynch."

"Yeah?"

"Get ready. We're gonna force their hand."

"Waddya mean?"

"Well we're getting close to the terminal. They'll be all over that place. Don't make any sudden moves. Stay cool. We'll get as close as possible and demand a car be brought out here on the runway for us." 

"You sure that'll work?"

"It'll have to. After that we'll have to disappear, then I'll see if I can't track someone down to help us."

"Know any good guys for getting the fuck outta countries?"

"A few. Some're dead or retried - narrows the list down a bit."

"Fuuuuck."

"Don't worry, I think I already know our guy. East German - real hard ass. Mostly keeps to himself anymore but he's known to do favors for the right price."

"Works for me."

"it's gonna have to."

"Guess you're right." Lynch agreeed with a quick nod as they approached the terminal, a few clearly worried officers waiting for them.

Kane stopped a healthy distance away and shouted, "Get us a car - or a van, something with enough room for all of us. Get it _now_. Don't shoot. Don't try anything. My partner and I have killed many men on our way here, you and these people mean nothing to us."

The police all nervously nodded, hesitating before backing away and eventually breaking into a run as they went to no doubt report the demand to their superiors who would, if they knew how to keep everyone alive, comply with the demand. If they didn't Kane knew how to escalate the situation so that they did but didn't attack, he also knew how to proceed if they did comply and they received their vehicles. Kane was betting on the police, being caught off guard, trying to stall - it wouldn't work. He would make his demand more forcefully and threaten a hostage. If that didn't work a hostage would be killed.

"Alright Lynch, get ready, when they bring the van around just let the driver get out and back the hell off before getting in, I'll drive, you stay in the back."

"Got it."

Kane simply nodded and waited to see what would happen. To his surprise he didn't need to make his demand again and a van came around to them out on the runway, stopped a decent distance away and a weary police officer eyed them as he got out - keeping his hands in view at all times - and slowly backed away.

"Alright Lynch, let's go."

"On it." Lynch nodded and quickly got everyone into the back of the van before closing the doors, sitting there nervously looking around, shotgun in hand.

Kane followed suit and got in the driver's seat, his hostage having gone in the back with Lynch. He wasn't quite sure where they were going just yet but he knew that the police would likely try and follow them, if only from a distance, which worked fine for him so long as they had a fighting chance instead of being surrounded by hundreds of heavily armed gunmen.

"Alright Lynch keep it cool back there and we'll be good. They'll be following us, just not too closely. Don't freak out."

"Don't freak out? We're gonna get killed, you idiot, I have a God damn good reason to freak out right about now."

"You've handled worse. We just came outta worse." Kane mumbled, starting the van and taking off.

Kane took the van out off the runway slowly and once he was out on the street started gaining speed, intending to make it as difficult for the police to follow them as possible, even if it was largely a futile effort; a police helicopter would no doubt be all over them the entire time even if ground forces weren't.

"I'm gonna make that call, keep an eye on things. If they start getting too close let me know."

"Right," Lynch nodded, glancing up at Kane, "Any idea where this guy even is?"

"No," Kane answered flatly, not wanting to think about the possibility of his contact not being able to help them, "But we don't have many options here, I'm trying to work with what we've got."

"True..."

Kane grabbed his phone as he kept driving and dialed the last number he knew the man had been using, "Listen, it's me - Kane. Listen, I'm in some serious shit."

"So I've heard." The old familiar face croaked, "You know word spreads fast - that and you're already all over the news. Says you guys hijacked a plane outta Shanghai."

"Yeah, well, it's a little more comlpicated than that - you in the area?"

"Not too far."

"Shit."

"Waddya need? A ride out?"

"That'd be great, yeah."

"I'll work on it." The German rattled off a city name and address, "If you come around with the heat still on you I won't answer."

"Naturally." Kane looked over his shoulder back at Lynch for a second, "We're good Lynch, we just gotta make it to the next city over. Talk about fucking lucky."

Kane wasn't entirely sure how the trip would go but he now knew what they were doing and where they were going. They simply had to get there in one piece and lose the police on the way, then he would be on his way to Africa. There Kane would take part in a long planned job that had originally been considered for his retirement though he had ended up being called by Lynch and dropping out early on which turned out to a colossal mistake. Kane knew the job he had planned on taking part in hadn't gone down yet however, and he could still possibly join the group once again, if not he would have to settle for being hidden in Africa and look for other work.

"So who exatly is this guy anyway?" Lynch interrupted his train of thought.

"I told you he's an old contact, old as sin, and an East German. Don't know his whole story but he was in the military way back, turned to terrorism after that, but soon after the wall fell. Ended up just another mercenary. Don't know the details all I know is I don't wanna know."

"Works for me." Lynch grunted, shrugging as he looked back out the windows on the back doors, spotting an obvious SWAT or local equivalent van starting to pursue them, "We got company!"

"Take 'em out! Go for the tires! They won't shoot back if they don't wanna kill the hostages!"

"Alright!" Lynch threw open the back doors and took aim as the large black armored truck quickly caught up with them.

Lynch took aim and let off his first shot quickly, barely hitting the road in front of the left front wheel, his second shot scoring a hit that instantly destroyed the tire causing the van to wobble slightly as the driver fought to retain control of the vehicle at such high speed. Lynch fired three shots at the opposite wheel and shredded it as well causing the van to swerve back and forth even more violently before going off across the lane one way and flipping suddenly onto its side; the van kept skidding noisily across the road blocking both lanes before coming to a slow stop and being left behind by Kane who kept the pedal to the floor.

"Keep an eye out, they'll be sending more." Kane shotued back to Lynch, scanning the area ahead of him for any police trying to cut them off, "Gonna make our trip a hell of a lot less enjoyable."

"Right, right," Lynch nodded, tightening his grip on his shotgun. "I'm on it, you just don't go crashing this thing into a building or some shit."

"You just keep them off us. I'll worry about driving."

Lynch muttered something under his breath to himself and kept scanning the road behind them. There were already more cops starting to catch up on the opposite side of the four lane road, going the wrong way to chase them, prompting Lynch to open up on the nearest one. Lynch's shots hit their target but were largely ineffective as the windshields spider webbed but didn't break and everyone inside was left unharmed.

"Shit! Fucking glass!"

"Just keep shooting! It'll break!"

"Right!" Lynch nodded taking aim and missing wildly as Kane swerved to avoid traffic that they were starting to run into, "Shit! Keep this thing steady!"

"Tryin' to! Just keep shooting!"

Lynch grumbled something to himself as he sat upright again and started shooting as Kane had instructed, cracking the nearest windshield and obscuring the driver's view causing the driver to slam into the back of a car. Feeling a bit victorious Lynch quickly reloaded as several other cars managed to keep closing in even as they weaved in and out of traffic at dangerously high speeds and only getting faster as they went. Lynch kept shooting, taking out a cop that was hanging out the passenger window of his cruiser trying to shoot back, and took out the driver in the same manner as the last but was horribly disappointed when a helicopter showed up and made his efforts useless.

"Kane! Kane! We gotta lose the chopper or we're fucked!"

"I know! Just fucking hang on, shut up and keep shooting for Christ's sake! Fuck!"

As soon as Kane finished his sentence the officers in the helicopter leaned out of the open side doors and started opening fire, apparenlty giving up on avoiding civillians casualties, bullets tearing through the roof of the van like it wasn't even there. Lynch returned the favor but the helicopter remained just out of range, easily avoiding his attempts at taking the gunman out as they kept peppering the vehicle with rifle rounds. As the police kept firing indiscriminatelyl into the van several of the hostages went down screaming in agonizing pain only for most of them to end up shot again and silenced.

"Shit! The hostages're getting shot!"

"Fuck!" Kane glanced back over his shoulder for a second seeing bloody and bodies everywhere, "Fuck it! They'll blame us for that, not like we can stop and surrender now!"

"Wouldn't have worked before either!"

"Just keep shooting!"

"God damn it." Lynch grabbed his pistol with one hand and started firing off half-aimed shots at the underside of the chopper, hitting it a couple of times but doing no real damage, "We're fucked Kane! Get us outta here now!"

"Hold on!" Kane gritted his teeth and threw the van into a sharp turn onto a side street, nearly fliping over as he did so, the van crashed down back on all four wheels and kept going barely kept under control.

Kane ignored more obscene shouting from Lynch in the back as bullets kept flying by peppering the van which had more holes in it than it could handle for very long, already starting to fall apart, forcing Kane to look for a decent place to pull over and get out on foot.

"Lynch! We're gonna have to hoof it soon! This thing's shot to shit!"

"Aw hell! You sure?"

"Of course I'm fucking sure, we gotta bail!"

"Shiiiiit!"

"Alright, here's an alley, shit, just try and stay outta that chopper's line of sight."

"Yeah alright." Lynch nodded, putting his pistol away and gripping his shotgun tightly.

Kane swung the van into a small alley it barely fit into violently and grabbed his rifle, hopping out of the vehicle before anyone had a chance to catch up and realize what they were doing, taking off with Lynch in tow.

"C'mon, we'll lose the chopper in the back alleys and side streets."

Kane kept running without another word not having any clue as to where he was going or how he was going to get them out of their situation but determined to do so none the less. He couldn't simplly be caught or killed, not now, he had escaped Shanghai - Ecuador couldn't compare. It hardly compared to his war against The 7 as well, though that was quickly becoming a horrible memory though not all that distant of one. It was Venezuela in the end that was Kane's motivation for what he was doing there, dodging and ducking through alleyees and shooting at foreign police. If things had turned out better he wouldn't have hurt Jenny, she would be well off with his retirement money and he would have died. But nothing ever worked out the way it was supposed to. It would have to this time Kane had decided as he put a quick burst through a policeman's chest as he stumbled across them in yet another filthy alley - an unfitting place to die if there ever was one.

"This way." Kane ran out of the alley and started across the street, spraying an arriving cruiser with 5.56mm rounds, 'Hurry!"

Lynch fired off a single shot, striking someone in the face, "Right behind ya!"

Kane didn't bother looking back, now just blindlyl emptying his magazine as he heard more cop cars arriving on that street, reloading as he entered the alley across the street helicopter finding them once again, its occupants starting to fire down on the pair as they made their way into the alley.

"We're not gonna lose this thing! Shit!" Lynch gasped for breath as he kept running, "We're so fucked!"

"Keep it fucking cool we'll be fine! We're doing fine, you're doing fine!" Kane screamed over the gunfire, not sure if Lynch could even hear him, "Let's just keep moving!"

Kane wildly fired up at the helicopter as he came back out onto the street, out in the open where they had a clear shot at him, trying to discourage the airborne shooters as much as possible as he kept moving. His suppressing fire worked to an extent and the few shots that did come from the helicopter were wild and poorly aimed, missing by miles. Kane made it across the street and ducked down behind a care, unloading the rest of his magazine into the side of the chopper; it wasn't random fire this time as Kane made sure to hit the windows around the pilot and shattered them with a few quick bursts. The helicopter quickly lost control as the pilot was struck and killed by several rounds just as Lynch caught up and ducked down behind the car, watching the spectacle, the chopper spinning about wildly as it dropped quickly and crashed loudly through the roof of a nearby business.

"Now's our chance, we gotta move." Kane stood and grabbed Lynch by the back of his color, pulling him up to his feet and starting to run in the direction they had been headed, looking for a new vehicle.

"Come on, get in." Kane threw open the door to a small sedan and got in, tossing his gun on the passenger seat, "We're getting the hell outta here."

"Got it." Lynch jumped into the back, threw his shotgun on the floor and took Kane's Zastava instead, spraying several cops as they sped by and turned in the opposite direction, "Think they'll be able to follow us now?"

"No clue, let's not stick around and give 'em the chance."

"Yeah, alright, step on it." 

Kane did just as Lynch had said putting the pedal to the floor and taking off as fast as he possibly could leaving the police struggling to react and catch up to the sudden violent, chaotic action that had just erupted but they couldn't do so in time and were left behind entirely giving Kane a moment to think about how they were going to get out of the city; his contact was luckily close by, having been laying low in Ecuador, he had taken a huge risking not having a plan other than hoping he could be called on and couldn't afford another lest he risk being caught just as they were about to escape. Kane had gone through too much to simply give in and let anyone else win, he hadn't before and he wouldn't now just because some ill trained South American police pointed some guns at him - it wasn't the first time that had happened - nor did he care if Lynch felt like giving up. Kane couldn't afford to and flat out refused, if he ran himself into the ground then that was perfectly fine by him.

"Any idea where we are?" Lynch finally asked as he kept frantically looking around, trying to keep his gun out of sight though their care was riddled with bullet holes.

"No clue but I think I saw a sign for a dock, we're near some docks. We can take a boat - hopefully something smaller."

"Yeah, your plane idea didn't exactly pan out." Lynch scoffed, "I don't know how to handle a fucking boat anyway."

"Well I do so shut the fuck up and let me think."

"You aren't doing a very good job of it, not like I can make it worse."

"Shut the fuck up!" Kane snapped angrily, glaring at Lynch as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel, "And let. Me. Think."

"Whatever." Lynch scoffed again, looking out the window, scanning for more cruisers.

"There." Kane said excitedly peering off into the distance where he could see all sorts of boats docked, "Come on, we'll take one of the smaller ones, it'll get us where we're going.'

"You sure? This guy even on the coast?"

"Just trust me Lynch." Kane hurriedly pulled up to his boat of choice as closely as possible, took his gun from Lynch who grabbed his shotgun and they stormed the boat completely taing its two occupants by surprise.

"Get 'em offa this thing!" Kane shouted, shoving the couple toward Lynch who force them off the boat, giving them his best intimidating glare as they took off down the docks.

Kane hurriedly started up the boat with his stolen keys and carefully set sail for the open water not having operated even a small vessel for quite some time but it all came back to him easily enough as he got going out in the open water. They had made it, if only barely, and now that they were in the open water the police would have a hard time catching up to them and so long as Kane got them to where they were going quickly enough they would have at least a slimm chance of disappearing into the crowd. With worse luck they would run into what would essentially be a firing squad waiting for them in the next coastal city over ready and waiting to annihilate them on sight. Several hours later however Kane slowed the boat down and eased it into a harbor in the city he'd been told his contact was staing at without trouble, at least at first, though he remained on edge.

"Ditch the shotgun."

"What-"

"Ditch the fucking shotgun." Kane ordered again, more forcefully, tucking the Zastava under his suit jacket and holding it there with one hand, "You got your pistol - it'll be enough."

"The hell it will." Lynch muttered as he followed Kane off the boat and down the harbor, "Let's just find that guy."

"If you'd shut up I could." Kane grabbed his phone and impatiently dialed the same number as earlier, hoping his contact would answer again, "C'mon..."

A moment later Kane was relieved to find that he was still in the cooperating mood and answered. The conversation the two had was just as short as the first time around, a reminder of where to find him and a quick run over of the game plan, and then the line went dead before Kane could hang up. The German had never been known for wasting time or energy if he didn't have to. With a destination in mind all Kane had to do was find his way there which proved easy enough, he started heading for what looked like the right area, careful to keep his rifle concealed as he kept making his way down the luckily mostly empty streets.

"Alright Lynch, we're almost there- after this we're done, this guy'll get you set up and ready to get wherever you're going. Don't even fucking open your mouth, this is it, we're done. We gotta split up. All shitty things come to a shitty end."

"If you say so." Lynch grumbled in his usual fashion as he continued following Kane, not entirely sure either of them had any idea where they were going what so ever.

Kane wasn't entirely sure how well things would work out but every time he mentioned having to split up he found himself having to say it almost as much to convince himself as Lynch. He didn't want to have to go it alone but that's how it was, he knew, he could make it himself. Lynch would have to do the same or meet whatever other fate was waiting for him. Kane couldn't rely on anyone until he successfully escaped to Africa where he would only be doing so as long as was necessary, after pulling off the other job that he knew was still in its planning stages he would leave and let whatever death awaited him have its way. He had already botched two jobs, one before Lynch had even called, he had no choice but to pull this one off perfectly - for Jenny. Kane would have more than enough money to set her up for the rest of her life and then Jenny could at least live in comfort and peace, knowing he had finally let her be.

"We're almost there. Stay cool. Let me do the talking."

"As always." Lynch nodded, Shanghai had been his town, his contacts, this time he was back to being the winman.

Half an hour later Kane had found the right place a run down apartment block just on the edge of the ghetto, though the entire citty looked like it had seen far better days, or perhaps not, Kane knew the world too well to be that hopeful and optimisitc. Some places were always horrible just like people and he was too familiar with human nature to think either of those things could ever change even given long enough a timeline to do so. Neither he nor Lynch could change either, even if the ysplit up like Kane wanted, but that wasn't why he wanted to and he didn't care abotu that. At the moment Kane didn't care about anything other than getting out of Ecuador alive.

"Kane?" An old war torn looking man appeared as the door cracked open, "You made it. Good. Already started setting things up, hate to have wasted all that time for no pay."

"You'll get paid, don't worry." Kane assured him, "Can we come in? Got a rifle tucked away."

"Sure, sure." The old man moved out of the way and opened the door further, letting his hand drop from behind his back to his side revealing a Ruger P89, "You two said you needed paperwork? Lucky I've got some unused documents laying around - just in case."

"Sorry to take them off your hands."

"I've got more."

"Good." Kane shrugged, taking his compact rifle out from under his coat and setting it down, "You got any ammo?"

"Plenty." The gruff old German answered quickly, "Still working with a USP?"

"Yeah - my friend here's got a Desert Eagle in forty four."

"Huh." The man eyed Lynch for a second before disappearing into another room, "Don't have anything for you then. Here."

"Thanks." Kane took what ammo the German could spare and nodded, tucking them away for later use, his USP already loaded at the moment, "Look, we need to get going as fast as possible. They'll be on us in no time and I've got a job I can't miss."

"And I guess I got a plane to catch to somewhere." Lynch mumbled, not bothering to look at Kane as he spoke, "Gotta find me a place to lay low."

"No problem." The German produced a set of false docuents for both of them, handing them over to their respective owners, "These should do the trick, just try and stay low, get where you're going and don't travel. Let the heat die down if you can."

"Our faces are gonna be all over the news." Kane agreed with a curt nod, "But you said you could manage."

"I can. You said Africa."

"Yeah." 

"Good then, there's a barge leaving here, regularly takes in criminals. Makes trips to South Africa all the time, you do some work on board or pay them then you'll be fine. They'll drop you off and that'll be the last anyone ever sees of you."

"Great, when's it leave? Like I said, I need to get there as soon as possible."

"Shit, if you really insist, you could probably talk to the crew today, they're prepping the thing to leave early tomorrow."

"Got here just in time then." Kane grumbled, looking at the floor for a moment as he thought, "Alright, we'll head out soon, just need to catch my breath."

"Just don't go bringing heat on me." The German shrugged and headed into his small kitchen, doing something or other out f sight.

Lynch looked from the kitchen to Kane a couple of times realizing Kane was deep in thought when he suddenly walked passed Lynch briskly, drawing his pistol as he went and didn't stop until he was in the kitchen.

"Holy FUCK!"

Kane quickly squeezed off two rounds as the German attempted to take aim and fire first and as he fell without thinking put another round in his head, and then once he hit the floor another for god measure.

"Christ what the fuck was that all about? I thought you said we need to lay low!"

"We do. Trust me, cops around here won't bother showing up for a while, they're more like crime scene cleaners than anything."

"Great, just fucking great."

"Shut up and grab the rifle." Kane took the German's pistol and whatever ammo he had been carrying ,"We can't leave this guy here to rat us out to anyone. Fact is I know he's an untrustworthy scum bag. We just needed him to get outta here alive."

"Fuuuucking shit man, you're on cold, heartless bastard you know that you son of a bitch?"

"He deserved it as much as anyone else in our fucking line of work now quit bitching and hand me my gun."

Lynch started grumbling to himself again as he traded the rifle for the Ruger and all of its ammo before Kane tucked the rifle back into his coat and held it there as they headed outside, scanning back and forth for a second before proceding. Lynch followded close behind without hesiation though he looked around nervously hoping to spot something out of place so he could empty both guns into it and get all of his pent up energy and anger out of his system, at least for the time being. Kane on the other hand was still as focused on their current predicament as possible, they had to make it to the barge leaving town as soon as possible, the industrial docks being further down the water front from where they had arrived. If what the German had told them was true then they were all set, they would use their fake papers if and when necessary but other than that Kane would be able to make it to Africa unnoticed and hopefully lose Lynch in the process.

"Hold up." Kane ducked off into an alley for a mment, tossing his rifle in a dumpster, "Let's go."

"Hell was that for?"

"Don't wanna be carrying a rifle around, it'll make 'em feel threatened. Hell, best if they don't know we have any guns - keep yours hidden."

"Ah yeah whatever you say Kane. Let's just get this over with. I know how much you're in a hurry to ditch me."

"Fuck you." Kane sighed, "And good luck, you'll need it you idiot."

"I'm not the one that goes stabbing people in the back, you'll need it more." Lynch replied quickly, barely resisting the urge to start putting bullets in Kane's back as they kept walking.

Kane simply ignored Lynch long since having lost the energy necessary to continue beating that particular dead horse with anyone. Lynch didn't know anything about anything and never would, nor would he understand even if he did, and so Kane simply ignored his partner. They reached the indsutrial docks an hour later and approached what appeared to be the barge they had been told to board. A couple of minutes of negotiation earned the two a spot on the ship, likely doing menial work until they reached their destination, but they had a way out of the country. All Kane had to do until then was keep his head down and avoid any further problems and he would finally be able to go about his retirement job.

What would have normally seemed like far too long later Kane peered out into the distance from the deck of the smuggling ship and could see the shore of South Africa. It had been quite some time and without any connection to the outside world Kane couldn't possibly know what his status in the news was, but China had likely been unable to completely cover up what had happened, and who had been involved, especially if they had informed the Ecuadoran police about their imminent arrival. That hadn't worked however and Kane imagined being the secretive types they were, were likely trying to track him down on their own; it would only be a matter of time, Kane knew, the Chinese were good and he wasn't doing much to hide himself. If they came after him and Lynch then they would just have to make it out alive again, just as they had before, though Kane doubted Lynch's ability to manage on his own; the man was a loose cannon to put it lightly and could hardly function with someone holding his hand and keeping him in check let alone without. Soon they would be parting ways in a strange and unknown land though and Lynch would have to manage, something he thought about as well back in his cramped quarters where he had been spending all of his off time unsure what to do with himself or how to go about setting up his new life in Africa; in the end Lynch thought he could manage if only because he had before, he had never been on the run quite like after being broken out of prison by The 7 but he had survived that ordeal and went on to create a life for himself in Shanghai while Kane had simply gone on barely surviving. In Lynch's mind he had come out on top, not Kane, and it would happen again. A moment later as Lynch pushed the thought out of his mind he found himself standing beside Kane, staring out at the fast approaching shore.

"Almost there."

"Yeah."

"Good luck, Lynch. You'll need it. Whatever you did in Shanghai, it'll work here, just be careful where you go. Africa isn't all that stable."

"Yeah." Lynch grunted, not speaking for a moment, "I know - what about you, really doing this job of yours?"

"I got no choice, Lynch, I gotta do this-"

"For Jenny."

"For Jenny." Kane confirmed with a nod, "Then I don't know. I guess we'll just see who catches up with me first. The 7 already did, anyone else with their resources - like the Chinese government or Shang-Si's friends - could just as easily find me."

"And me."

"Thought you were done living and all that shit?"

"Yeah well I did some thinking and fuck it, I might as well be as much of a pain in the ass as I can, if they come lookin' they'll find the barrel of a gun waiting for 'em."

"Atta boy." Kane snorted, shaking his head, "Just try and lay low, these fuckers're good."

"Yeah... yeah, alright. I managed before."

"Not with ruthless bastards like these guys after you. We took care of The 7, that was it, these guys're gonna keep coming until it proves too costly for them to do so."

"Yeah I guess so, I guess you're right, but I managed before Kane. I'll do it again. This place can't be worse than Shanghai."

"South Africa? It can be." Kane admitted with a sigh, "Only been here for any length of time twice before, it's not pretty - a lot like Havanna."

"Havanna." Lynch agreed in some odd way or another, "Yeah well Havanna went better than expected after all that other shit before it, how that went down didn't exactly provide much motivation."

"Gotta be self motivated to survive in this business. We're way over the hill for it, the both of us." 

"I guess so. I was better at playing gangser anyway." Lynch chuckled, shaking his head, "Was way easier on the ears."

"Yeah, I guess that's one of the few upsides." Kane shrugged as he lit one of his last cigarettes and sat there smoking until they reached the harbor roughly fifteen minutes later.

When they rached the city Kane and Lynch quickly departed disappearing into the crowd and blending in readily enough even with their ridiculous outfits, Kane finally giving in and agreeing to bring Lynch along with him - if only because he realized he couldn't have Lynch running around drawing attention to them both if he got into trouble without Kane. With Lynch tagging along Kane considered even letting him in on the job he had planned even though he knew that was a horrible idea, thoug he also knew it wasn't his decision, in the end the men he was going to get in contact with would have the last say as it was their job, if they wanted to bring anyone else on board they could, if not then Kane couldn't and wouldn't try to force them. Whatever ended up happening Kane decided it was beset to keep Lynch in check until he outlived his usefulness - on top of keeping him from drawing attention to them both which would result in a rather uncomfortable stay in a foreign prison that involved daily torture until they were finally executed. Kane couldn't have that happening just yet and so he continued through the busy port streets with Lynch sticking close by, his eyes darting all over looking for unseen threats, mumbling to himself as they pushed their way through the crowds.

"What now?" Lynch grumbled.

"Now we find a place to stay, and I make a call. Just stay outta trouble, alright? Can you do that? I agreed to let you tag along, now just shut up and let me handle this."

"Fine, fine." Lynch grunted, falling silent for a moment as he simply kept walking slightly behind Kane, "I just wanna know what's up, are we getting together with those guys?"

"Yeah, Lynch. We are. Maybe they'll let you in on it too." Kane offered, hoping that would be enough to shut his partner up, "It'll pay real well, they've been putting it together for a while, let me in on it when I was looking for a retirement job."

"And? What happened? I mean, you hardly even told me about what happened to that one before I called you."

"We've hardly had a chance to talk." Kane reminded Lynch as they started to leave the bustling harbor area and made their way into slightly less industrial business sector, "Found what I could, that one was first... it didn't go well. This is my back up."

"Eh, huh." Lynch grunted again thinking about what Kane said, nodding after a moment, "Makes sense. What was that last one all about?"

"Fucking nothing. Had to oversee a deal. Thing went to shit in six seconds flat."

"We're just fucking cursed." Lynch mused with a snort, shaking his head slightly, "That's gotta be it. Someone somewhere just loves pissing on our parade."

"That's what I'm starting to think." Kane admitted with a heavy sigh, not letting whatever he was thinking show on his face, "We made it this far though, guess our luck's not that bad - or we're just tougher than anything bad luck can throw at us."

"Heh. Yeah. I guess." Lynch agreed with a quick nod, noting how oddly optimistic that sounded, not quite sure he really agreed with it.

"Come on, I think I see a hotel over there." Kane motioned for Lynch to stay close and picked up the pace, heading out into whatever Africa held for them.


End file.
